Host fees about same booking request wrongly calculated by mobile app in comparison with the PC desktop browser

[Nik5]

I have noticed that for two booking requests in a row, the breakdown of fees and payout amount shown in the mobile app is completely different from the Airbnb website using a PC FOR THE SAME BOOKING REQUEST.

I am using a channel manager, thus I have been switched by Airbnb from 3% host fees to 15% host fees since the 1st of September.

It is evident that the amount shown in the mobile app is wrong. If you do the math it's more than 15% host fee that is being charged. It's 19%.  

Also, in the case of the 2nd booking request, in the mobile app, the initial total amount of the request is wrongly calculated as 40 x 45 = 1845 and not 1779.  

I have notified Airbnb about this and their initial response is that the reservation fees can go up to 25% if there are many requests which is utter rubbish as this is nowhere to be found! According to the lady I have been in touch with, by Airbnb support, she would send me the relevant article that explains this.  After one week of waiting she has not been given any article as such by anyone from Airbnb and according to her, no one can find anywhere written about the rates up to 25%.  

Now the same person from Airbnb support has been waiting for feedback from the technical team to no avail.

Get your act together Airbnb and instead of giving back false information try and fix this bug ASAP!

Screenshots attached.
 

[Sarah977]

In the screenshots on the left, they have shown the monthly discount and subtracted it from the total regular nightly price. In the screen shots on the right, they have discounted the nightly price at the same percentage, but not shown it as a discount. So those numbers do jive, but why they show the discount separately on one and not the other is very strange. However, I have never used the app, so I'm not familiar with whether it always shows like this or not.

And I can't understand why the service fee would be different on each. This does seem like some kind of glitch. 

@Nik5

[Ann72]

@Nik5  It looks like you're at 18.5% service fee.  Also fyi 40*45=1,800, not 1,845.  But that's not the point.  The point is why is your fee so much higher than 18%?

Here's what the TOS says:

"The host-only fee typically ranges from 14% to 16% and is mandatory for hotels and some other hosts. It’s also mandatory for software-connected hosts, unless those hosts have a majority of their listings in the United States, Canada, the Bahamas, Mexico, Argentina, Taiwan, or Uruguay.  Airbnb Plus hosts, and hosts who use Super Strict cancellation policies may pay more. "

Do you use the super-strict cancellation policy, or is your listing a plus listing?

They use language like "typically" and "may pay more" to basically charge whatever they want to whoever they want, host or guest.

[Nik5]

I use strict cancellation policy not super-strict and I have no plus listings and we are talking about the same booking request seen by two different sources. 

[Ann72]

@Nik5  Insane.  Sorry you're having to deal with this!

[Sarah977]

But that still doesn't explain the discrepancy between the service fee on the app versus a PC, for the same reservation, does it? @Ann72

[Ann72]

@Sarah977   No, well spotted, Sarah, it doesn't explain anything, thank you for taking the time to point that out.

[Emiel1]

@Nik5 

2 possible reasons for the glitches:

1. On the app VAT is added onto the "host-only fee", on the PC not

2. On the app the "host-only fee" is increased with the "host fee (incl VAT)", on the PC not

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1857/what-are-airbnb-service-fees

The 40*45 is estimation (the price breakdown will show exact figures) ,but totals are the same on both platfoms, so it does not affect total booking.

[Super47]

@Emiel1

Yes, it's the VAT. The VAT rate in Greece is 23%, so on a 15% host-only (now called simplified) fee, that's 18.45%. Hosts in countries where VAT is applicable also need to take this into account if raising their prices to net them similar rates that they would have been getting under the split-fee model. 

[Nik5]

VAT rate in Greece is 24%.

VAT is not applicable for STRs in Greece. 

This was not applicable when I was on the 3% model. Why should it be now and only on the mobile app? It doesn't make sense. 

[Super47]

@Nik5

Sorry, yes - I was looking at the previous VAT rate. You'd need to speak with your accountant about whether there are certain circumstances under which VAT might apply to hosts in Greece, even if not applicable to actual STRs (it's on Airbnb's service fees rather than the accommodation fees, perhaps?), and the fact that the fees now apply in full to the host who is resident in a country where VAT is applicable, as opposed to applying primarily to the guest who may or may not have been coming from a VAT registered region, may have some bearing on things. (There's also a possibility that it's being mis-applied completely) But again, only someone who is familiar with the rules in your specific region would be able to give you a definitive answer on that. 

Either way, Airbnb would be highly unlikely to be aware of the VAT application nuances in each specific country, but given the figures you're seeing, it does seem the most probable explanation for why you're seeing the additional fees. As for why it would be showing on the app and not the PC - unfortunately, there are very often discrepancies between the two with the Airbnb systems. But you are right - none of it really does make sense, and all we can do is make our best guesses! 

[Nik5]

There is no VAT charged for STRs in Greece by law.

When I was on the 3% host fees scheme I was never charged VAT so this should also be the case now.

All this simply doesn't make sense and I'm still waiting to hear from support about this.

I strongly believe that this a glitch that needs to be fixed by their technical team.

[Emiel1]

@Nik5 

As @Super47  also confirmed what i noticed (see above) on both screenshots:

The 24% is exactly the difference in the fee calculation on the app or the PC.:

75 + VAT = 93

272 + VAT = 337

So it is a glitch, as adding VAT (or not) should be the same on both applications !

[Lizzie]

Hello everyone,

Thanks for highlighting this @Nik5. My name is Lizzie and I am a Community Manager here in the Community Center, great to meet you. 

The team are looking into this at the moment and I let you know when I hear any updates. 

Speak to you soon.

Lizzie

(Thanks for your input, @Ann72, @Emiel1, @Sarah977, @Super47)

[Nik5]

Hi Lizzie,

Thank you for getting in touch.

The person from customer support who is looking into this is called Carla.

Cheers

Nik